Place to visit and taste grapes for free
On the eve of Tet 2024, the most talked about thing is the story about grapes when visiting Thai An Grape Village in Vinh Hai Commune, Ninh Hai District, Ninh Thuan Province. There are many sign boards along the village which say “Clean vineyards, free grape picking and tasting”.
Welcoming international guests at vineyards is no longer strange anymore. Local farmers diligently learn foreign languages and treat guests in a sincere manner. They face both happiness and sadness, but no one is discouraged from leaving their garden to do other jobs.
Having been passionate about growing grapes since the 1980s, with several failed crops, farmer Pham Van Hung was depressed and surrounded by sadness. It was painful to quit the job, so Hung tried to find a way to overcome failure and innovate the method of growing. With great effort, the grape fields are now laden with fruit. Hung said: “The strength of the village is to promote grape growing in association with tourism and the sweet fruits have attracted tourists to the village. The traditional vineyards are transforming strongly, offering fruits and drinks that are as valuable as imported ones.”
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy Lien, a local said: “In the spring of more than 10 years ago, the journey to the village was still difficult, and going out was also arduous. But everyone was confident that the following springs would be different. To date, more than 90% of the villagers are growing grapes, with more than 500 households.”
Like many other diligent and hard-working women in the village, Thuy Lien was proficient in pruning branches and watering the vineyard when she was only six years old. At the age of 10, she mastered how to harvest grapes. She said: “My family has been associated with grapevines for three generations. Currently we have nearly 10 vineyards combined with tourism. Hundreds of villagers live healthily and have beautiful skin thanks to grapes. In this arid land, the vine has become the ‘queen’ of trees”.
As Thai An people have consensus, with programmes such as “promoting the strength of grape growing” or “making clean products from grapes” all being welcomed by the local people. Hundreds of people in the village have mastered how to trade and sell their own products. In the period of integration, in addition to the green grape varieties NH01-48 and Cardinal red grape varieties, Thai An Village has also developed a number of other varieties such as NH02-90, NH02-137, and others.
Beauty spreads widely
Busily welcoming domestic and international visitors to the village, many local people shared that the farmers are different from before, they are not old-fashioned and always very honest. Everyone commits to growing grapes without spraying pesticides and processing grapes without adding chemicals that affect the health of others. Therefore, despite scorching sun, customers still enjoy visiting vineyards and listening to farmers’ stories. They are true stories about vine cultivation from the moment the vine germinates to the moment it is harvested and produces fragrant and sweet bottles of molasses and wine.
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| Domestic and foreign visitors to the village can learn many interesting stories about the vines and people here. |
While pouring grape molasses for the groups of Vietnamese and Korean guests, Thuy Lien did not forget to offer her best wishes to the guests on the occasion of the new year, noting that the Thai An people are always excited to welcome them back anytime. Thuy Lien said “By the beginning of 2024, in addition to selling fresh grapes, my family and hundreds of other families in the village are also able to make 10 types of products from grapes, including grape jam, raisins, grape molasses, grape wine, and others. There are groups of visitors from Russia and Korea who come to buy tens of kilograms of raisins to bring their countries every new year.”
Touched by the kindness, hospitality, and generosity of the locals, Korean tourist Jung Hoon said: “I have studied Vietnamese for two years, and have visited Thai An Village to pick grapes and buy dried grape products many times. Every visit, we are enthusiastically guided by the garden owners and presented with additional products after buying grapes. I have introduced this unique village in Vietnam to many friends in the Republic of Korea, and they will come here when they have a chance.”
Nguyen Dat from Ho Chi Minh City, who has been bringing his relatives to Thai An Village for several years, said: “The first time I came to this village was in the spring of 2018, that time I went alone. I liked it so much that every spring I brought my wife and children here. The feeling of picking bunches of ripe grapes to eat and buying grapes as New Year's gifts for friends is very interesting.”
Besides Thai An Grape Village, there are many other villages along the central region that are developing community tourism associated with their typical products and industries. They are Lu Cam Pottery Village in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province, the fishing village of Ninh Van Commune in Ninh Hoa District, Khanh Hoa Province, and the traditional wine village of Bau Da in Binh Dinh Province. When the power from these villages is maximised, the lives of the local residents will turn to new and more beautiful pages like the warm rays of spring sunshine.
